NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sooty Albatross
Phoebetria fusca (Hilsenberg, 1822)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sooty albatross (Phoebetria fusca), also known to sailors as the Quaker, is a species of marine bird belonging to the albatross family Diomedeidae. It is a medium-sized albatross that sports a sooty-brown or sooty-black color. It can be found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean. This bird scavenges for squid, fish, and carrion. Like other albatrosses, these birds mate for life and return to the same breeding spots every season. A single pair will mate every other year on a variety of islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean islands. This bird is an endangered species and conservation efforts are taking place.
Wikipedia contributors, Sooty albatross; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:46:36.482436+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phoebetria fusca (Hilsenberg, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Hilsenberg, 1822)
- Common name
- Sooty Albatross
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Procellariiformes
- Family
- Diomedeidae
- Genus
- Phoebetria
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderProcellariiformes
- familyDiomedeidae G. R. Gray, 1840
- genusPhoebetria Reichenbach, 1853
- speciesPhoebetria fusca (Hilsenberg, 1822)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phoebetria. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Light-mantled AlbatrossPhoebetria palpebrata (J. R. Forster, 1785) | DiomedeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Diomedea fusca Hilsenberg, 1822 Hilsenberg, 1822 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Antarctica/Southern Ocean
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=174530 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4GKHX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.